Days in the sun

Tuesday:

I got out to the park and did some good editing in the lovely winter sunshine. Then I walked around a bit. It's a shame that there are no paths along the river, houses are right next to it or else it is native bushland. The roads are set further back and have only very narrow footpaths. I did a lap of the park and over the little footbridge and back. The ground wasn't muddy today so at least I was able to walk on the grass right to the other end of the sports field. It was lovely to be out and I also felt that I got some work done and achieved something for the day.

Wednesday:

You wouldn't think this simple piece of furniture could be the cause of eight months of phone calls and annoyance, would you?

Well it was. But huzzah! This morning the handyman arrived with the correct piece (they ordered the wrong one twice) and it took 5 minutes for him to put the last drawer together and Aiden now has a complete chest of drawers! Yay!

It seems that Skinky has learned to read. I was about to pick up a book from the floor when I saw a little brown head poking out from under the front cover. I lifted it up, and there he was. He has an interest in science fiction apparently, it's Asimov's The Robots of Dawn.

It was another warm sunny day and my foot was feeling good so I decided to go on the longest walk I've attempted for ages. There is a Thai restaurant opposite Jasmine's dance school and I fancied trying it for lunch, so I walked there. Nearly 30 minutes. I took my takeaway to a nearby park and ate it, then escaped from the heat into the nearby shopping centre for a while, then walked home again. All up it must have been an hour walking, with a break in the middle.

My foot was fine but I don't know about the rest of me! My legs and hips are aching! Just not used to all this movement. And it was so hot! I could hardly believe it was still winter. Everyone else seemed confused too, clothing choices ranged from shorts and T-shirts to heavy winter coats. I always get hot walking, I was suffering in my jeans and light-but-long-sleeve top.

I took my backpack with my manuscript, planning to sit in the park and edit after lunch but there wasn't a table with shade available, I ate my lunch (which was delicious) on a bench with a tiny bit of dappled shade under a small tree.

The shady way home...

An amazing array of plants seemed to be in bloom considering it is still winter here, I took photos of wattle, roses, violets, iris, lavender, and other things I have no name for.

What on earth is this thing?

A more recognisable camellia.

A rather exotic and aggressive bird of paradise.

I've been having a bit of pain in my left hip for some years now, it never occurred to me it was arthritis (I'm not old!) until I had that recent scan. I'm not sure I like knowing, I think it was easier to dismiss as transitory and unimportant before I had a name for it. But today I was researching a bit about it especially regarding diet and they talk about avoiding foods that trigger inflammation. Guess what number one is? Sugar. Sugar, then saturated and trans fats, refined foods, gluten. They recommend increasing fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, olive oil, dairy... sound familiar? Sound a bit Mediterranean? I keep getting shoved towards this same healthy diet that will apparently cure everything wrong with me, so why can't I stick to it? How come other people can? Is there a switch somewhere I can flip to turn on the will power?

Inside Out

Tuesday:

Is it Tuesday? School holidays don't follow our usual daily pattern, so I get lost sometimes.

We went to the movies this morning, firstly doing a lap inside the shopping centre as a bit of a walk. We saw "Inside Out" which was really good. Luckily kids' movies these days tend to appeal to parents as well, because I rarely see anything else!

We went to a Thai restaurant for lunch and ordered two dishes between the three of us, one served with rice and one served with rice noodles. I didn't eat any of the starches, sticking to chicken and vegetables (and yummy sauces of course). I had a chocolate bar in the movie.

Then we did some grocery shopping and came home.

I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today. Part of it is thinking about dad's death, and partly these persistent germs (I have a sore throat again) but partly it is FogDog's fault! He is the latest of the bloggers I follow to give up sugar and suddenly lose weight (13 pounds in 13 days) with no cravings after the first few days -- not just no cravings for sugar but for any food. We used to be on the same page about the whole sugar thing, but now he writes:

"I've read a lot of literature on the evils of sugar. I've always held the belief that anything is OK as long as it is in moderation. I'm not so sure about that belief anymore."

I guess I don't want to believe this is true for me. I mean, I don't eat that much sugar, right? I just looked up that the average for someone from the US is 76.7 grams of added sugar per day, not including juice. Since my treats are usually savoury and I cook nearly all meals from scratch; most days I would have 10-20 grams of added sugar, primarily in my tea and  in chocolate. I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love. You want me to give up tea and chocolate as well! So unfair.

But it seems to work for so many people. And nothing I try does.

I have tried giving up sugar a couple of times; last year along with dairy, alcohol, soy and grains, for Whole 30. I didn't make it to 30 days. I felt depressed for eight days and much better when I gave up and ate a few chocolate chips, so make of that what you will. I always feel horrible when I go low-carb, so it's hard to separate out the effect of withdrawal from processed sugar.

... I left it there instead of continuing a rant about how much life sucked and why was everyone being mean to me by giving up sugar. About an hour later I suddenly connected several of my sentences together.
"I've been feeling pretty depressed, last night and today."
"I've already given up all the yummy starches that I love."
"I always feel horrible when I go low carb."

Seeing any connection?!

When I had this epiphany I was already feeling quite a lot better, oddly enough after eating a couple of tablespoons of All Bran as recommended by the Glycaemic Load book guy to keep fibre levels up. Hmm, any relevance there? You think?!

I felt an immediate huge emotional relief on top of already feeling less depressed after the All Bran. I wasn't just randomly miserable, it was my well established inability to handle low carb diets! (NB, it was nothing to do with sugar as I was still having my usual amount of sugar -- how I feel without sugar specifically is yet to be established.)

Clearly I need to be vigilant about getting enough carbohydrate while I cut out starches. It's tricky. I'm not allowed the most carbohydrate-rich foods and I don't like pumpkin or sweet potato, so I need to keep up the levels of other vegetables and fruit. And All Bran. Otherwise I'll be turning to more sugar and caffeine to prop up my mood.

Report card:
Diet: Ok. A bit too much chocolate (I think to combat depression).
          Breakfast: Bacon. Orange. Tea. It was a fairly small serve of bacon, two short rashers, but I shouldn't have it more than once a week (my doctor said once a year!). But I struggled with breakfast already and now I've cut out toast and all cereals it doesn't leave much that I want to eat first thing. I don't want eggs every day, I need to make sure I have some leftover meat available at least some mornings.
          Morning: Toblerone chocolate bar. Cheese.
          Lunch: Thai chicken and vegetables in peanut sauce.
          Afternoon: All Bran. One square of dark chocolate (melted over the All Bran to make it edible, it was pretty good actually, like a little chocolate and fibre cookie). Tea.
          Dinner: Bolognaise with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and cheese.
Exercise: Ok. A short walk.
Water: Good.
Sleep: Poor.
Mental health: Poor.